1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to refrigerator cabinets, and more particularly, to an improved cabinet having an outer shell adapted to provide added strength to the cabinet regardless of the cabinet's width.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventional refrigerator cabinets include an outer shell and an inner liner disposed within and spaced inwardly from the outer shell. A body of insulation is disposed between the shell and the liner. One such arrangement is shown in Morphy U.S. Pat. No. 4,099,812 wherein a rigid structural frame is utilized to provide structural integrity to the cabinet. The outer shell is of steel construction. The frame is provided inwardly of the front perimeter of the outer shell. No such frame is provided along the back of the refrigerator cabinet. However, the coaction between the shell, the liner and the foam add to the rigidity of the entire cabinet.
Alternatively, the outer shell may include a back panel of thicker steel than the remainder of the shell to provide a more rigid construction. Such a rigid construction is beneficial to minimize twisting and swaying of the cabinet when it is being moved.
In certain refrigerator cabinets, it is desirable to use an outer shell of wrap-around sheet metal construction, as shown in Stuart U.S. Pat. No. 2,450,844. With such a wraparound shell, the back panel portion is necessarily of the same thickness as the remainder of the shell. Therefore, the cabinet is more prone to undesirable twisting.
In a refrigerator cabinets having the refrigeration components mounted at the top thereof, such as in Crotser U.S. Pat. No. 2,986,900, the weight of these refrigeration components requires the vertical strength, and thus rigidity, of the cabinet to be increased. As the cabinet is widened, this strength is of even greater importance. The problem is further compounded by the necessity of having an air flow duct down the back of the cabinet. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a cabinet structure providing sufficient rigidity for virtually any cabinet width.
The present invention overcomes the above problems of refrigeration cabinets in a novel and simple manner.